(Mainichi: April 15, 2015 – p. 24)

 Russian Ambassador to Japan Evgeny Vladimirovich Afanasiev made his first visit to Hiroshima Prefecture on April 14, offering a flower wreath at a memorial cenotaph for atomic bomb victims located inside the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

 He also toured the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, followed by a meeting with Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, who had lodged a protest against Russia following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks on the possible use of nuclear weapons.

 “We consistently oppose any remarks that obstruct peace,” said the mayor, reiterating his call for the elimination of nuclear weapons during his meeting with the ambassador.

 Putin revealed in March that he was ready to use nuclear weapons when the country annexed Crimea, a peninsula in the south of Ukraine. Matsui sent a protest letter on April 3, writing that his remarks “insult hopes the victims of atomic bombs have for peace.”